Although compatibility with roll-to-roll (RTR) processes is the main driving force for organic PV and solution processed PV technologies (when compared with lithographic processes), there is a common misperception that this high throughput, low-cost process produces devices of lower resolution and quality. This will not be true if contact printing techniques such as Microcontact Printing or Nanoimprint to properly designed RTG platforms. In fact, the printing resolution can be significantly better than photo-lithographic processes as contact printing are not limited by diffraction. Complex high resolution patterns of tens of nanometers have been repeatedly demonstrated by the aforementioned techniques at laboratory scale. However, it is not practical to directly scale up and apply these techniques to present state-of-the-art RTR systems, e.g. gravure printing and flexographic printing.
With the present application, the nanometer-resolution contact printing technologies can be scaled up for industrial implementations.